
When I think about spirituality, I think an analogy can be made. The physical, tangible world that we live in – the hair growing on top of your head, the burrito you ate for lunch, the money in your bank account, the atmosphere that surrounds our planet – all exist in a physical, logical world. You can measure, quantify and logically prove everything. But I feel like there is another part of us that exists beyond anything tangible; a part of us that goes so much deeper than the physical world is able to reach.
Your skin and your muscles tell your brain that you're being hugged, but your soul is that part that feels the warmth of an embrace and cherishes it in a way that cannot be measured.
Two people can stand in front of each other, push air through their vocal chords, causing them to vibrate at different frequencies, and move their lips and tongue in a way to make lots of sounds that the brain perceives as language. But only your soul will experience the fellowship and joy of a deep conversation with a good friend.

Inside these vessels of bone, muscle, fluids, skin, and general pile of meat that make up our physical body, there is a living soul that is the true essence of our being. Both parts are very much alive. But one of those will die forever. Our heart will stop beating one day. We will stop breathing. Our flesh will become cold, and our body will die. But the part that is our mind, our spirit, our soul, I think that part goes on to another life.
I think there are many people who live their entire lives within the 10% of their minds that is their conscious mind, the 10% of the world that is tangible. They think that's all there is to it – whatever I can see and prove, that's the end of the universe, there is no meaning for anything beyond that. But I think they're ignoring the 90% that is unseen with their physical eyes, yet is secretly driving every decision they make. The 90% that holds true love, compassion, beauty, and faith. It's the food you eat that "will never spoil", it's the water you drink that will "become a spring of water welling up to eternal life." I think in this part of the universe is where God would live – a place that we can't see with our eyes, but we can feel with our soul. We exist in both places at once, and it is up to us to acknowledge and cherish both of them in their own right.
"...the conscious, which makes up about 10% of our mind, and the subconscious, which occupies a whopping 90% of our mind" this is a very debatable set of numbers, and can be interpreted in two ways from my knowledge. One is the commonly identified idea that we only use 10% of our brains.
ReplyDeletethis often misunderstood number of 10% is how active the brain is while being measured under a state of rest, or a lack of high cognitive thought while under low stress.
Our emotions are effected by our brain, but our brain is also effected by our emotions.
The brain is a complex land of things we think we know in neurology.
A decent example of this is of good old Phineas Gage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage).
But I agree there is a soul or animating force, because if we are little else than machines of perpetuation then it would also serve to answer the question to what is the purpose of life?
If the only answer was to perpetuate itself then it follows that there is little purpose, but then we fall into the cognitive realm of being able to think of our own accord.
We are the ones who create purpose in ourselves. Whether it be by belief or by active choice. It is our free will that gives us this volition. A metaphysical concept in nature because it is very difficult to find the free-will part of the brain, although it is believed to live somewhere in the frontal region.
But then another question arises! And its my favorite one :) WHY ME!? lol
Or rather why us? why this species? Why not something else. Why me here? Why me there?
The zen answer, because.
The real answer if one could be said to exist is that it probably doesn't matter as much as improving ones self and so ostensibly the lives of all.
Hmmm i left a rather long comment...
Maybe it was fate? :-p
This was a wonderful read Chris. Thank you for this post. It's funny, but I feel that maybe because of my profession I am constantly looking to the part of life that is outside of that 10%. Because that spiritual incalculable side, is the side that excites me. The side that makes me want more, the side that makes me believe.
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